Seagate to slash jobs

Disk drive price war claims more scalps

Seagate Technology is to cut 1,600 staff in Singapore as part of its restructure. The disk drive maker is reviewing its business globally and is set to make changes over the next few months. A Seagate representative said this would involve reducing the company's headcount. No figure had been placed on the number of jobs to be cut, but Seagate is planning further announcements before the end of the current quarter - 2 October. Bob Peyton, IDC analyst, told The Register job losses were an inevitable result of the price war in the disk drive market. "Disk drive prices have been decreasing, yet technology has been accelerating at a faster rate than in the past. It's difficult to see how anybody is making any money at it." Unless prices stabilise or rise, things will only get worse, according to Peyton. "It's a difficult situation, and impossible to predict when it will end," he said Seagate's move comes in the same month as rival disk drive firm Quantum announced it would shed 800 jobs in the US and Ireland and re-jig its hard disk-drive business. Quantum also accused Seagate of pricing its products below its costs, thus forcing a price war. ®